From Solo TTRPG Player to Dungeon Master

 

A lot of my friends have asked me questions like, "How do you play D&D?" or "What exactly is D&D?" These are loaded questions and I sometimes have a hard time answering them. A few immediate answers first come to mind...

- "I build worlds and characters and draw maps."

- "I use random tables and oracles to guide me (as a DM) and my PC (as a player)."

- "I roll a lot of dice... like a lot."

Haha, all of this is part of the D&D experience. But, I want to give an answer that will DRAW them into it. I want them to understand why they should at least "try" to look at why I love playing TTRPGs in general. So usually, this is my go-to answer for someone who literally has no idea what D&D is...

- "It's a game where you and your friends gather around and explore a dangerous fantasy world and in the end, create a great and memorable story."

Of course, there are some rules here-n-there, but overall the goal is to have fun together. This is why it's such a great social experience! We all connect together through stories! 

You might say, "But SOLOIST... you are a SOLO player... it's not the same for you." And you are 'kind of' correct, my friend. It is NOT the same for me socially, but the stories I create are simply for myself. And that's fun for me!

And that process of creating worlds and characters for myself has prepared me to become a Dungeon Master (or Game Master)!

1. Being a solo TTRPG player makes you already practice being in that "dungeon master mindset." - You are both the player and the game master. You know how much time is needed for yourself to create a campaign, and you know what it's like to play what you created!

2. You learn to simplify world-building. - It's so easy to get overwhelmed with creating LITERALLY the entire world... you come up with continents... regions... towns... factions... buildings... governments... etc. You can go on and on and on. But, you learn to start small and slowly build from there. Start with a small region. Add a town, then maybe some forests and a lake, etc. And play in that region, FIRST. Maybe your PC learned of catacombs underneath the town from a rumor he heard from the Tavern. And THEN, you can build the dungeon layout of the catacombs, etc. Always start small! 

3. Improvisation is most definitely a skill that solo TTRPG players will be FORCED to learn. - You will get a bad roll, you may not know how to interpret what the orcale is telling you, you feel like the story is going in a direction you weren't expecting, you might even not know exactly "what to do next." This is where you pause for a bit and think. You can just try to think outside the box yourself or use random tables or prompts to guide you. And sometimes, you just need to make a decision and go with your gut. You ARE the DM after all! 

4. You know how to get creative with different types of encounters. - As you know, combat is not always the answer to overcoming different challenges. You can create puzzles, riddles, maybe even murder-mysteries, etc. Look at your characters and see their strengths and weaknesses, and even interests! 

5. You know what it's like to be the player. - Being in the player's shoes, think about the characters and their backstory. Make the campaign tie back to the character's LIFE. Maybe the PC ran away from their hometown to escape from an evil king's rulings and in the end, splitting away from their family. In your campaign, maybe the PC bumped into their siblings and reconnected! Or maybe their sibling is on the wanted poster and the PC wants to clear their name. 

So, to sum this all up... if you are a solo TTRPG player and you want to try being a Dungeon Master for your friends, DO IT. You are already using those DM skills!